Bareback
by azurefang
Summary: I posted this story a couple of years ago and I thought someone might like to read it again or someone new might like to read it. Elena talks Damon into going on a fund-raising horseback ride. It doesn't go quite as she planned, Damon being Damon.
1. Chapter 1

BAREBACK

_A/N I posted this story a couple of years ago and I thought someone might like to read it again or someone new might like to read it. It takes place during the summer Stefan was away with Klaus and before Elena and Damon went to Chicago. Elena talks Damon into going on a fund-raising horseback ride. It doesn't go quite as she planned, Damon being Damon._

_Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries does not belong to me. Original characters are mine._

Chapter 1

Elena let herself into the Salvatore house fairly early in the morning, wanting to catch Damon before he left on some errand. She could have called, but what she wanted could best be done face to face. She found him at the computer desk in the library.

"You're here early," Damon said, raising his eyebrows. A smile touched the corners of his mouth. Seeing Elena almost any time cheered him up and this visit helped take his mind off his brother Stefan. Where Stefan was and what he was doing was worrisome.

"I am. I've got an invitation for you. I know you're going to say 'no', but I plan to harass you into saying 'yes.' So here goes."

Damon eyed her suspiciously. Was she ready to go hunting for Stefan again? Or was it something else? And why was she sure he wouldn't want to do it?

"Maggie Weems has organized a money-making ride. A fund-raiser. Now, I know you can just donate to the cause and you can sponsor a rider, but I'm going to participate and I want you to, also. It benefits handicapped children and also service men, who have come back from the war handicapped."

"It sounds like a good cause. I don't know Maggie Weems, though. What kind of ride is it?" Damon asked. He would be interested in motorcycles, but he didn't have one. He supposed he could even do a bicycle ride, but for how many miles? He hadn't heard of the ride, although he hadn't been keeping up with most of the local social news.

"Horseback," Elena said, grinning.

"Horseback? Why horseback?" Damon asked, rolling his eyes. He certainly didn't feel like spending hours on a sweating horse in this hot summer weather.

"Maggie runs a program where disabled kids and adults get to ride very gentle horses. It's supposed to be excellent therapy for balance, coordination and mental attitude. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, since it's local."

"Oh, I've heard of it. I'm just not familiar with the woman's name. How long a ride is this anyway?"

"It's just two hours. Tomorrow morning before it gets too hot. The stable is south of here on the other side of Willow Creek. Past Cooper's Split Rock, which I know you're familiar with," Elena said with another grin, despite the fact that the incident at the rock had been bad for Damon because he had suffered a serious injury.

"Smartass," Damon said. "Why just two hours? That doesn't sound like a very long ride. And it sounds too long for disabled riders."

"It's the challenge. If anyone falls off, they have to donate some work time to the stable."

"What're the chances of falling off? Who the hell is going on this ride? Surely not the disabled people?"

"No, not them. The chances are moderate. The ride is _bareback_."

"Bareback! I assume you don't mean the riders are bare-backed. Like naked. So, you must mean riding without a saddle," Damon said, rolling his eyes again. "I am not going on any ride where I get my jeans full of horse sweat and horse hair. Or a blister on my tailbone and bruises on my … crotch from the horse's spine."

"Oh, come on, Damon. I am assuming you can do it. You've obviously done it before, right?" Elena knew the answer, but she wanted to goad him.

"Excuse me? Remember, you're talking to someone born in the mid-eighteen hundreds. Of course, I can ride. With or without a saddle. But that doesn't mean I'm going on any bareback ride. I'll donate money to the cause. I can sponsor you."

"Fine! Don't ride. I only mentioned it because I told Maggie I'd ask you. One of her experienced riders was in a car crash and can't go. She needs another good rider to monitor the other riders. Come on, Damon. It's an easy ride. A walk on gentle horses. Caroline is going."

"Caroline? Somehow I can't see her getting on a horse," Damon said with a snort.

"Fat lot you know! Caroline is an excellent rider. She used to have a horse and go to horseshows. She has trophies," Elena said, defending her friend. "All that was before her father fell in love with her riding instructor, Mr. Connors," she added.

"Excuse my ignorance."

"Please. You know, I might fall off and you could pick me up in your strong arms and put me back on my horse," Elena said, raising her eyebrows a couple of times. She knew how he felt about her and she shamelessly was using that to try to convince him to cooperate.

"Elena, are you _flirting_ with me?" Damon asked. "What else are you offering?"

"Forget it, Damon!" Elena snapped in exasperation. He wanted more than she was willing to give. She turned to leave. "Just forget I even mentioned the ride."

"All right. All right," he said, surrendering. "I'll go get a blister on my tailbone and bruise the family jewels." He knew he was being overly dramatic. He had ridden bareback plenty of times in the rather distant past. He had an excellent sense of balance and he was sure there was no horse out there that he couldn't handle.

"Thank you, Damon. You are a gem. When you want to be," Elena said. She surprised him by coming close and planting a kiss on his cheek. She told him the time they needed to be at the stable in the morning.

"I'll come pick you up," he said.

"Good. I'll be ready." With a grin on her face, she left the room and the house.

_A/N I divided the story into short chapters. Hope you don't mind. More to come._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_A/N Thank you all for reading (or re-reading) this story. And special thanks to those of you who commented. Love ya._

In the morning, Elena showered and then stood in her room trying to decide what to wear. At first she considered that the weather was going to be hot, even though the ride was in the morning. Perhaps denim shorts would be cool. Then again, jeans would protect her legs from sweaty horse hair. Alright, jeans it would be.

Then she dug around in the bottom of her closet and found her western boots. It had been a while since she had worn them. Stefan had taken her country line dancing and she had polished them to look nice. She tried them on and found them a bit tight, but wearable. At seventeen years of age, she felt she had attained her full height. Surely her feet would not grow any more.

She finished her ensemble with a sleeveless, pale green top and a baseball cap to keep the sun out of her eyes. She wished Stefan was around to go riding with her, but Damon would have to do. She had never seen him on a horse, but she had no doubt that he would look good, because he looked good doing just about anything.

Damon came for her at the time she had suggested. He showed up at her front door dressed in blue jeans instead of his usual black ones. He had on a black T-shirt that hugged his chest and showed off his muscles. She knew he owned boots because he often wore them. It had occurred to her before that he wished he were taller and wore boots to give him an extra inch. That brought him eye to eye with Stefan, unless the younger brother was also wearing boots.

Despite her desire to be faithful to Stefan in her heart, she couldn't help but appreciate the fact that Damon was one good-looking guy, who made her heart skip a beat. She tried not to admit to herself that she was drawn to him, but she was.

Damon was very drawn to Elena and he didn't hide the fact. He was in love with his brother's girlfriend. He watched her lock her front door and then turn to him with a grin. She really liked him, he knew, and he was determined to help that "like" grow into full-blown love. He was sure she was close to it. It helped that Stefan was gone, although Damon worried about his safety and his mental health. But without Stefan around, he had a much better chance of winning Elena's heart.

He was surprised when they arrived at the Flying Horse Stables. There were a lot of people there, so many, in fact, that he knew they were from places other than Mystic Falls. There were horse trailers and tow vehicles parked in a pasture, the wide gate standing open. He, too, pulled into this large parking area. Then Elena led the way to the stable's office. Along the way he spoke to a few people that he knew and he didn't admit that he had not even known about this event prior to Elena's conversation with him. He had been so involved in tracking Stefan that he had ignored other current events.

Elena introduced him to Maggie Weems, who was blonde, somewhat pretty, in her forties and fairly thin. She had him sign a liability release and she thanked him for volunteering to help keep an eye on the riders. Obviously, she had taken Elena's word that he could ride well. She pointed out which horse he was to ride and then rushed off to attend to the many issues needing her attention. One of them included talking to the television reporter waiting for a quick interview.

Damon went to his assigned horse, which was tied to a fence with a group of other horses. The animal was a dappled gray gelding and quite well-fed. Damon ran his hand along the groomed neck and then along the back. Except for the bony withers at the top of the shoulders, the gelding's spine was well-padded with fat. This animal spent a lot of time standing around eating. If used much for riding, it was at a walk. It was undoubtedly one of the therapy horses. Except for sniffing Damon's arm, it looked totally bored.

Many of the animals present were privately owned and had been trailered in for the event. The riders were dressed in various styles - English, western and in-between. Parents were there for the younger riders, although none of the kids was too young to ride bareback and go on an easy trail ride. All of the youngsters wore safety helmets. More than half of the riders were adults and few of them wore helmets.

Damon found that he was one of several adults who would be at intervals beside the line of riders. Their job was to look for any problems with riders or horses and to handle the situation. When it was finally time to get everyone mounted up who were going, Damon put his hands together and gave Elena a leg up onto her chestnut horse, a slender animal of advanced age and gentle nature.

"How does that feel?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Not as secure as I thought. I haven't ridden bareback in years," she admitted as she wiggled on the horse's back.

"Now you tell me. Does your sponsor know you are likely to fall off?" Damon asked, his hand resting on her thigh. He knew a horse's skin had some give to it, so that it was not as solidly in place as a saddle. In addition, the rider had no stirrups to help with balance.

"I don't intend to fall off, Damon," Elena informed him with a scowl.

"This horse isn't well-padded," he observed, running his hand along the horse's back behind Elena's rear end and noting that he could feel the animal's spine. "You're going to have a blister on your tailbone, I bet. Maybe I can put some ointment on it for you later."

"Damon!" Elena scolded. In a lower voice she said, "Shut up!" She nudged her horse with her heels and it walked away from him.

Grinning, Damon noticed a young woman waiting for help in getting on her horse. Being a gentleman, he assisted her and she thanked him. He ended up helping several people get on board before he returned to his gray mount. The animal was tied to the fence with a lead rope attached to a halter on its head. Over the halter, was the bridle with the reins tied together and resting on the horse's neck. Damon untied the rope, looped it around the animal's neck and tied it. He then gathered the reins and a fistful of mane and swung up onto the gray back. Luckily the horse was not tall. Sitting on the smooth, warm hide, Damon made sure he was slightly back from the bony withers. Although he hadn't ridden in ages, being on a horse felt very familiar and natural.

Riding up beside Elena, he found Caroline beside her on a bay mare. The blonde girl sat properly upright and looked at ease. "Where does this trail ride go?" he asked.

Elena answered his question. "From here it goes east to Willow Creek, crosses the creek, then north on the trail beside the creek, back across to this side and then back to here. At a walk, it should take about two hours."

"That's assuming people don't fall off and horses don't run away."

"Don't be a pessimist," Caroline said. Her horse was so docile it was almost asleep. "By the way, you look cute on a horse."

"So do you. I didn't know you rode until Elena told me," Damon said with a smirk. He let his eyes take in her low-cut top. She had fair skin and would be in danger of getting a sunburn. Perhaps she had sunscreen on.

"Used to ride a lot. Haven't in a while," Caroline said, then she urged her horse to move and rode away to talk to someone else.

Maggie, on a flashy paint horse, lined up the string of riders and assigned the outriders to their positions. They would ride just to the side of the main line. Damon didn't insist on being near Elena, but was pleased when he found himself "in charge" of her part of the line. In a few minutes, they all started off at a walk, heading east, as Elena had said, toward the line of trees that flanked Willow Creek.

While almost all of the riders had experience riding with a saddle, many of them had never ridden bareback. One of "his" riders started to slip off within ten minutes of the start of the ride. He spotted it and in moments was able to grab the teen's arm and help him back into position. The boy was a bit embarrassed to need help and murmured a thanks. Damon made no comment and nudged his horse up beside someone else.

One thing Damon realized was that his horse was actually well-trained. It took subtle cues from his hands on the reins and from his legs. It made it easier for him to get next to riders and help if they needed it. He knew horses reacted differently to a rider who knew what he was doing as opposed to one who did not. Many horses chose to ignore sloppy signals from inexperienced riders. The gray recognized that Damon knew what he was doing and he complied. As a result, Damon kept his riders on their mounts. He smirked every time someone in some other part of the line slipped off, while all his riders stayed on board.

Until Elena fell off.

_A/N Like hiking and bicycling, I think horseback riding is a great way to enjoy the outdoors. Of course, you never know what might happen. _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_A/N The trail ride is briefly interrupted. Elena is not injured, but the situation changes, in a good way for Damon, but not so much for Elena. There is some mention of slavery. I hope you all like this chapter._

It wasn't Elena's fault that she fell. Halfway through the ride, her horse stumbled, and although it didn't fall, it dipped down in front and Elena slid off, coming to a sitting position on the ground. She kept hold of her reins and the horse stopped beside her as it righted itself.

Damon saw this happen and told his people to stop as he dismounted. Leading his horse, he walked to Elena as she got to her feet. Word of another person unhorsed spread forward through the whole line, which came to a halt.

"Are you all right?" he asked her as she brushed dirt from the seat of her jeans.

"I'm fine. He tripped on something."

Damon noticed that the horse didn't have his left front hoof flat on the ground. He moved to the animal's side, bent down and picked up the hoof. The metal horse shoe was half pulled off, some of the shoe nails sticking out at odd angles. Knowing the shoe couldn't be hammered back in place, Damon took hold of it and pulled. He had the strength to pull it free from the hoof.

Maggie rode up to the scene from way up at the head of the line. She dismounted and conferred with Damon.

"He's not putting full weight on that foot," Damon pointed out. "I don't know what he tripped on, but I think he stepped on himself. I heard his shoes click more than once."

He and Maggie decided that Elena should not ride the slightly lame horse, and since Damon's horse could "carry double," Elena could ride with Damon on his horse. He gave her a boost up onto the gray's back. She then reached down to give him a hand up. In a moment Damon found himself back on his horse with Elena close in front of him. Really close. His arms were around her because he took the reins, while Elena held the reins to the lame animal, which walked beside them on the left. Damon was pleasantly aware of the fact that his thighs were against Elena's and the front of his jeans were up against the back of hers.

Elena was also aware of it and after a minute, she asked him to slide back a little.

"Why? This is nice," he whispered in her ear.

"I probably could ride with someone else. A girl, for instance."

Not wanting her to ride with anyone else, he moved back slightly, which at least put a bit of space between his crotch and her butt. Somehow, the horse's movement kept moving him forward, though. She kept making him move back. If other people in the line of riders noticed this interaction, none of them let on.

They were on the trail on the east side of Willow Creek heading north when Damon said in her ear, "This was part of our property when I was a kid. I rode here all the time."

"Really? Oh, that's right. Stefan showed me the ruins of your old home once. It's over there somewhere, isn't it?" Elena asked, looking farther east. All she could see were trees with glimpses of a mowed hay field beyond.

"Yes. Not far."

"It's hard to believe all the farms and fields around here were once worked by slaves." She kept her voice low so that no one could hear their conversation.

"Almost all of them. We didn't have machinery to mow the hay fields or stack the hay. And it had to be loaded on wagons to move it to the places that bought our hay. It was our business."

"And your father couldn't hire men and pay them to do that work?"

"No. There weren't a lot of white men who would do that kind of work. And they wouldn't work side by side with black slaves. The truth is that Father paid quite a bit of money to buy a field worker, more than he would have ever paid a hired man to work several years, but that was the way it was."

Elena didn't comment further and they rode in silence for a short way.

"Right up ahead is a place where Stefan got thrown off his pony and almost drowned in the creek. The water was high at the time. I was able to rescue him."

"He almost drowned? That's awful. How old was he?"

"I don't remember exactly. Maybe six," Damon said. He recalled how afraid he had been for his little brother. He didn't mention that he had had help rescuing the boy. Of course, if Stefan had drowned, he wouldn't be off somewhere with Klaus and murdering people.

The trail beside the creek went up and down small rises and Damon kept sliding up against Elena. When she felt that he was perhaps a bit aroused by all this closeness and movement, she finally made him stop the horse.

"Let's change places," she said.

"What? Why?" he asked, pretending innocence.

"Like you don't know," Elena said. She made him raise the reins that he had in his left hand so she could get under them to dismount and then she swung her right leg over the horse's neck and dropped to her feet on the ground. Ignoring the other riders' looks, she reached up to Damon, who took her hand and swung her up behind him. She still had hold of the other horse's reins. They adjusted their position, with Damon now having the horse's withers in front of his crotch instead of Elena's nice rear end.

"Better," Elena whispered in his ear as she put her right arm loosely around his body. She continued to lead the other horse with her left.

"If you say so," Damon muttered. He was not entirely disappointed. Her thighs were still against his, her arm around him and, when she was whispering in his ear, her breasts were brushing his back. He was still enjoying himself. And to think he had almost passed up this chance of closeness!

The long line of horses turned left and crossed Willow Creek at another ford just inches deep. The creek bank going down was not steep, nor was the one going up the other side. At this location was a trail leading both east and west, and Damon told Elena that it lined up to the east with where the Salvatore barn used to be.

"Do you ever go back to where the house was? Or the barn?" Elena asked. She knew a lot of places had been burned down during or after the Civil War, and yet other places had survived.

"No. Not in over a hundred years. This is the first time I've been back here by the creek since then. Our property was sold a long time ago, so someone else owns the land now," Damon said. "I didn't even know this path was still used."

"Stefan said the house burned down soon after you brothers were turned and your father died. It must have been awful to see the home you grew up in go up in flames. Everything you had was lost."

"Both Stefan and I kept a few things. They weren't in the house when it burned

down."

"Like the photograph of Katherine."

"Yeah. Like that."

There was a delay at the creek crossing as some of the horses took the opportunity to grab a drink of water. One horse pawed at the water and contemplated lying down in its coolness. Damon and the other outriders had to make them all move along.

After Damon and Elena crossed the water, there was a yelp and a splash behind them. It told Damon that one of his riders had slipped off her horse. He halted the gray and let himself down on the right side because the lame horse was close on the left. Although Elena and Damon had already ridden up the sloping creek bank, he went back down on foot and into two inches of water to help the girl back up onto her horse. She wasn't hurt and was minimally wet. She looked embarrassed and thanked him. He was a bit chagrinned that he hadn't kept watch better as his group forded the stream. He might have kept her from slipping off.

When he climbed the creek bank, which was not steep, and walked back to his own horse, he grinned up at Elena. She knew he couldn't easily get back up if she insisted he ride in front of her. With a sigh of resignation and rolling her eyes, she moved forward and let him up behind her again. She kept the reins to both horses and he slid both his arms around her.

"I'm so glad you invited me to do this," he whispered to her.

"This isn't quite what I had in mind," she whispered back.

"No?" he said and he tickled her slightly. She jumped and accidentally kicked the horse, which also jumped. She and Damon started to slip, but they managed to stay on. The horse settled down and Damon whispered, "Oops. Won't do that again."

"You are such a _child_," she scolded.

"Not hardly," he murmured in her ear, pressing his pelvis forward against hers. She poked him with an elbow and he moved back an inch. Temporarily.

_A/N Riding "double" can be fun. Or not. I would say that Damon was enjoying himself, wouldn't you? Feel free to comment. I love to hear from you guys._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_A/N Thank you all for reading and commenting. The trail ride is almost over._

Although they were within fifteen minutes of the end of the ride, one of the riders, a man of about forty, moved out of line behind them and came up on their left.

"Miss, do you need to change horses?" he asked and his meaning was clear. Since he had spent most of the ride two horses back, he had had plenty of opportunity to watch the subtle interplay between Elena and Damon since Elena's horse became lame.

"No, she doesn't," Damon said evenly, but sternly. He tried to catch the man's eye to compel him, but his eyes were on Elena. "Get back in line, sir."

Elena was embarrassed. She looked at the fellow and said, "No, thank you. I'm fine. Damon and I are good friends. We're okay. But thank you for offering."

The man then looked sternly right back at Damon and then he turned his horse and fit back into his place in line.

"I am so embarrassed," Elena murmured. "He noticed what you're doing."

"I should apologize, but being a bad child, I don't feel like it. Maybe you can spank me later."

"Only with a ten-foot pole." Elena growled.

"Ouch."

One of the other riders just ahead of them started to slip, and Damon nudged the gray up close. Elena had the reins and also guided the animal close so that Damon could boost the rider upright again. The remaining minutes were uneventful as Damon kept an eye on his riders, some of which were noticeably weary and sore. He could see the thigh muscles in several riders trembling. His own were a bit sore because he hadn't ridden like this in ages. In addition, he was thankful his horse had a well-padded back. Several of the other riders where constantly straightening up or wiggling because of sore bottoms.

As the riders finally entered the staging area at the stable, those who could dismount did. Some fell down when they found their legs wobbly. Others sat on their animals until someone helped them down and steadied them. Many of the riders walked oddly. The experienced riders who rode most often had no trouble, of course.

Damon slipped off the back end of the gray and then reached up for Elena. She eyed him for a second before leaning toward him and letting him lift her down. Although neither of them had ridden in a long time, neither of them had any problem with walking. They had been trudging in the mountains recently. Nevertheless, the "gripping" muscles on the inside of their thighs were a bit tired.

Damon led the two horses away, tying his grey to the fence again. He led the lame horse to where Maggie was helping people and handing horses over to her regular helpers. He asked where she wanted the lame horse put and the woman indicated a place near the barn. She said veterinarian was already on the way, as well as a farrier. He led the animal to the indicated area and tied it by its halter rope.

He then went back to Maggie, who now had a clipboard and was checking off the names of riders who had slipped off . Those riders had agreed to help out at the stable if they fell. He had to report who of his charges had fallen off. Elena's fall didn't count because it was caused by the stumbling horse, so Damon had "lost" only one rider.

Meanwhile, the man who had offered Elena a ride sought her out after giving up his mount. He found her talking to another rider. As the person walked away, he said to Elena, "I didn't mean to embarrass you. I thought he was acting inappropriately and you couldn't get away from him."

"It's all right. He can be inappropriate sometimes, but I'm used to it," Elena said, still embarrassed. "Sort of used to it."

"I'm in law enforcement. How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen. Really."

The man looked at her steadily and she guessed that he was wondering if an older man was sexually harassing a minor. She didn't know what to say, but then added, "I have a driver's license in my car, his car, if you don't believe me."

Damon came back and glared at the man. Elena reached out and took his hand, squeezing it. He kept his mouth shut, waiting to see what the situation was.

"He was just teasing me, officer," Elena said. "I really am eighteen and Damon is a good friend. His teasing only goes so far, believe me."

At that moment, Liz Forbes walked over, her expression saying that she wondered what was going on. She had not been present at the beginning of the ride and had not taken part, but she was here now. Caroline was following her.

"Walter, I didn't know you were in the ride," Liz said to the officer.

"I was. Nice saunter through the countryside. I was just talking to these young folks. They had a little 'hanky panky' going on that made me wonder about harassment and ages."

"Oh, really," Liz said, frowning at Damon. Then she shook her head with a wry smile. "Our friend Damon is the 'hanky panky' type. And Elena is of age. I know both of then, Walter. Unless Elena wants to press charges, we're fine here."

"Of course I don't!" Elena said incredulously. She saw that Caroline was silently laughing.

"How in hell could you two misbehave while riding a couple of horses in this crowd?" Liz asked, looking from Elena to Damon.

"Probably because they were both on the same horse," law officer Walter said. "Hers pulled up lame."

"Oh," Liz said, and Caroline started laughing out loud. She got the giggles and hurried away.

"I am ready to go home and shower," Elena said to Damon, knowing she smelled of dust, sweat and horse.

"All right," Damon said. To Liz he added, "I assume I can go."

"Get out of here, Damon," Liz said. "And behave yourself for a change."

"Yes, ma'am," he grinned. He then walked with Elena to where they had left the blue Camero.

Liz and Walter watched them go, noting that both had plenty of sweaty, gray horse hair stuck to their jeans. The car seat would smell like a horse for days.

In the car, Elena said, "Thank you for doing this. Wasn't it fun? Admit it."

"Oh, yeah. It was one of the funnest things I've done in a long time," Damon said with a wide grin. He laughed out loud when he heard her give a snort and saw her shake her head. "Glad you talked me into it." He started the car and headed for her home.

_A.N. - I like to ride horseback. I'm sure Damon is a good rider. I also read that Ian S. likes to ride. Thus this story. Any comments?_


End file.
